Billiard-cue.



W. BLANEY.

BILLIABD CUE.

APPLICATION rmm 00T.8, 1011.

1 ,022, 1 73. Patented Apr. 2, 1912.

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UNITED STATES PATENT onnron.

WILLIAM BLANEY, 0F MARBLEHEAD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO BENJAMIN G. MELVIN, OF MARBLEHEAD, MASSACHUSETTS.

BILLIARD-CUE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 6, 1911.

Patented Apr. 2, 1912.

Serial No. 653,091.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM BLANEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Marblehead, county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Billiard-Cues, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention relates to games, and particularly to a one or the like for playing billiards and similar games, and aims to provide an improved form of readily removable and adjustable tip therefor.

As is well known the cushion member of the tip of a billiard one is commonly made of some relatively soft and pliable material, as suitable leather, and frequently requires to be renewed, as when worn out or when it has become detached from the cue. The tip is commonly secured to the end of the cue by a suitable adhesive or binder as cement or glue. This adhesive commonly requires considerable time to dry thus depriving the player, for the time being of his cue, which, if it be a favorite one, is a great inconvenience, or, in a public hall, depriving the proprietor of the cue for renting purposes.

My invention contemplates a tip, the cushion member of which may be readily detached from or attached to the one in a few seconds, with scarcely any interruption to the use of the cue.

Of the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved tip, a portion of the cue being broken away for convenience, Fig. 2 a vertical longitudinal section thereof, and Fig. 3 a similar view of a modified form of the invention, Fig. 4: is a detail of a portion of Figs. 2 and 3.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, 1 is the tip end of the ordinary billiard cue, the extreme end thereof being reduced as at 2, Fig. 2, to receive thereabout a ferrule or sleeve 3 of any suitable material. I have found a sleeve made of vegetable fiber to be particularly satisfactory and prefer to use such ma terial since it is tough, light in weight and is not easily dented. This sleeve may be attached to the cue in any desired manner as by cement, is of any desired length and suitable thickness, and is provided with a lock engaging portion on one, and herein its inner face, shown as one or more longitudinal grooves or channels 4; which is preferably depressed at one or more points 5, between the ends thereof, to receive a locking member to be described.

The detachable portion of the tip comprises a plug 6 having a head 7 of suitable size. This plug may also be of any suitable material as metal, wood or fiber, but I also prefer in this case, to use fiber as it is lighter in weight than metal, tougher than wood, and is unaffected by dampness.

The cushion member 8 of the tip, Fig. 2, may be of any desired material, as suitable leather, and is preferably secured to the head 7 by a suitable binder, as glue or cement. To facilitate the application of the cushion member 8 to the head 7 and to secure said mem ber as firmly as possible thereto I prefer to provide the outer end of the head 7 of the plug 6 with one or more grooves or other indentations 9, Figs; 2, 3, to receive an additional quantity of the binder applied thereon to secure the pliable member 8 thereto. The additional quantity of adhesive or binder that is received and retained by said indentations acts to more securely bind the member 8 to the head 7.

To securely but removably lock the plug 6 in the sleeve 3 and prevent said plug from rotating in said sleeve I provide a spring locking member 10, of any suitable material, as metal, which is secured in any suitable manner to the plug 6, at a convenient point thereon, as by extending it through said head, see Figs. 1, 2, 3. This member 10 is fashioned to fit closely the groove 4 as to size, and it is provided intermediate its length, with an offset or sharply curved portion 11 which is received by the depression 5 of the groove 4: when the plug is forced into the sleeve, and this member 10 thus serves to restrain the plug from working outwardly from the sleeve, under ordinary conditions, or from turning therein but permits it to be withdrawn longitudinally when desired by the application of force thereto.

If, Fig. 3 it is desired to make the plug proper of fiber and the head entirely 01' partly of other material than fiber, for instance, wood, for purpose of economy or other reasons, such wooden or other auxiliary member 12, may be secured to the fiber member 7 in the manner already described for securing the cushion member to the head,

and the cushion member 8 may be secured in turn to the member 12 as before. In Fig. 3 I have shown the indentation 9 in the outer face of the wooden member 12 as a centrally located semi-circular one, performing the same function as the plurality of indentat-ions shown in Fig. 2. A fiber plug is affected less by the temperature than any other material I know of.

By providing a plug that abuts directly against the reduced end of the one I obtain a cue that is substantially a solid one from one end to the other and provide a solid backing for the cushion member, which is a marked improvement over the method sometimes employed of boring the tip end of the cue to receive a tip holding device, thus weakening the one at the point where the greatest strain is applied to it. The application of the sleeve to the tip end of the cue also tends to prevent the cue from splitting under the impact of the cue withthe ball.

By providing a supply of plugs 6 with the cushion member 8 secured thereto it will be obvious that a damaged cue may be almost instantly repaired by withdrawing the plug 6 therefrom and inserting a new one in its place. No time will be lost in the use of the one while waiting for the new binder to dry to secure the cushion member to the cue. A sleeve of the description referred to is more satisfactory than metal as, if metal is used, it must be very light in order not to make the cue too heavy, and consequently the light metal sleeve is easily dented and bent when struck as it often is in handling. Again metal sleeves are affected materially by the temperature and especially by the dampness of the atmosphere in many buildings and frequently become detached from the cue. Wooden sleeves are quite likely to check as well as expand or shrink owing to the eflect of the atmosphere on them. 7

While I have described'herein a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will doubtless be possible to vary therefrom Without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim 1. A billiard cue tip comprising a plug, a locking member thereon, a cushion member thereon, a sleeve having a longitudinal locking recess for said locking member permitting longitudinal movement only of said plug relative to said sleeve, said sleeve adapted to engage the periphery of both the plug and the cue.

2. A billiard cue tip comprising a plug, a locking member thereon, a cushion member thereon, a sleeve having an engaging portion for the locking member, said sleeve adapted to engage the periphery of both the plug and the cue and non-rotatable relatively to either of them.

3. A billiard cue tip comprising a plug having an oifset locking member thereon, a

cushion member thereon, a sleeve having an offset longitudinal section on one face thereof for said locking member, and a non-rotatable relative to said plug.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM BLANE Y.

WVitnesses EvERE'rr S. EMERY, ROBERT H. KAMMLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

